Cultural appropriation.
A word you have definitely heard before and if you haven’t, where have you been?
According to Wikipedia, cultural appropriation is defined as “the adoption or use of the elements of one culture by members of another culture.” We’ve seen the way other cultures influence our lives from media to fashion but there is a difference between appropriation and appreciation. In a world as connected and diverse as ours, it is expected that our cultures mix and intermingle and it is encouraged to expand one’s knowledge about the world around us by learning of different cultures and backgrounds. There is beauty in other cultures and it’s nice to see that people recognize that because there was a time when that wasn’t the case. But when companies and celebrities take aspects of other cultures and use it as a way to make a profit, they erase the people who identify with that culture. When others exploit cultures but refuse to speak out against injustices against that same culture, they show that they have no regard for the people.
People of color have spent centuries being shamed, ridiculed and persecuted for their identities. They’ve had to hide parts of themselves in order to avoid harassment and just feel safe in a world full of hatred. Even today, showing pride for your culture comes with the risk of encountering someone who feels they have the right to strip you of your own right to freely express yourself. It’s like every day there is a new video on social media of a person of color being verbally harassed or assaulted for either the way they look, the language they speak or just for being who they are.
When others take aspects of a culture that isn’t theirs, they wear it as a sort of costume. One they can take off at the end of the day or when they feel it benefits them. People of color don’t have that luxury. We can’t change our skin color, our accents, our distinctive features or the stigma that surrounds our people. We can’t pick and choose certain parts of ourselves to display that won’t put us at risk of getting racially profiled by law enforcement, told to go back to our own country or hit with racial slurs that cut through even the thickest of skin.
Where are the people who wear sacred headdresses to Coachella when Native American communities are threatened by the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline? Where are the people who love to imitate Spanish culture in the way they dress and the food they eat when Trump threatens to end DACA putting thousands of immigrants at risk for deportation? Where are the people who profit off of Black culture when POC are being disproportionately targeted and killed by the very people who swear to protect them?
Culture is not a costume. The headdresses, hijabs and cornrows that many wear with ignorance have incited injustices and violence towards those whose identities are more than a fashion statement.